Python wins trademark dispute, rival stops calling itself “Python”

Cloud servers company drops claim to Python trademark.

The Python Software Foundation recently went public with a battle against a company in Europe that was trying to claim a trademark over the name used for more than two decades by one of the world's most popular programming languages.

Just a little over a month later, the Python Software Foundation has won the dispute. The other company, PO Box Hosting, was offering cloud server and backup services under the name Python. PO Box Hosting was also seeking a figure trademark over a logo with the word "Python" in it. The Python Software Foundation has a registered trademark in the US, but it did not get one in Europe for financial reasons. However, trademarks can be asserted based on use and recognition of a name, even if it's not registered with a trademark office.

The Python Software Foundation initially said PO Box Hosting "blew us off," but PO Box changed its tune once the foundation opposed PO Box's trademark application and rallied users of Python to provide evidence that the word "Python" is associated with the programming language.

Under the terms of the settlement announced Monday, PO Box "has withdrawn its trademark filing and has agreed to support the Python Software Foundation's use of the term," the foundation said. "The amicable agreement reached between the two sides will result in a rebranding of Veber's Python cloud server and backup services, which continue to be available at http://www.veber.co.uk." Previously, the services were available at python.co.uk, but no longer. Veber is the name PO Box trades under in stock markets.

"We are happy to come to an agreement with Veber," Python Software Foundation Chairman Van Lindberg said in the announcement. "What the PSF wants most is to support the global community of Python developers. To Veber's credit, they were willing to recognize the Python brand without protracted negotiations. We are grateful for Veber's support and we wish them luck in their business."

Python is an open source programming language created in 1991. It's popular with beginners and experienced programmers alike in fields such as scientific computing and professional animation. It's also often used to build Web applications, and it was used to create the Eucalyptus and OpenStack cloud computing platforms.

To prevent such disputes in the future, the Python Software Foundation now has a pending application for a European trademark.

to be fair, they were actually trying to brand their cloud server as " python" which is according to the python software foundation itselfcompletely different from "python"

As I recall, PO Box was applying for a broad trademark that would cover far more that just cloud servers. Furthermore, if I say "Python server", do I mean a PO Box Hosting server or a server with Python on it? Using the term for a server product that may not use the Python language isn't just theoretically confusing, it's actually confusing, not to mention the fact that the trademark would prevent competitors from saying they supported Python on their servers.

If PO Box hosting won this litigation it would be extremely confusing for nontechnical users.

I could see it quickly turning around into a money-grab. I think some companies do stuff like this to see if they can get away with it under the radar. Maybe it wasn't malicious, but that's under current management. If the management changed, they could start a new business model ... "how can we leverage this Python trademark we have now to extort money from the Python coding arena?"

We asked 100 people what their first thought was when presented with the word 'python'.You said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRSnakeYou said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRComediansYou said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRAnother snake?So....My friend the large constricting reptile in the corner over there wants to dispute this so-called "trademark" (Angolan Python - python anchietae - BOCAGE 1887); unfortunately he'd need to become a corporation in order to be legally a person, and that's against his high reptilian principles.My other friend Monty is preparing his case - nobody expects a group of British Cambridge graduates...

We asked 100 people what their first thought was when presented with the word 'python'.You said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRSnakeYou said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRComediansYou said 'programming language'.Survey says ... URRR-NURRRAnother snake?So....My friend the large constricting reptile in the corner over there wants to dispute this so-called "trademark" (Angolan Python - python anchietae - BOCAGE 1887); unfortunately he'd need to become a corporation in order to be legally a person, and that's against his high reptilian principles.My other friend Monty is preparing his case - nobody expects a group of British Cambridge graduates...

Especially if the British Cambridge graduates are also large constricting reptiles

Hmm, what does a python have to do with a cloud service? Maybe holding my data securely or something? I think Python (the programming language) actually did them a service by making them rebrand their cloud service to a more appropriate name. Now they can be like the 1000 other cloud services with a little cloud icon next to a name like cloud9.

I was pretty harsh towards the Python Software Foundation's arguably ill-advised decision not to apply for a European trademark when this issue first came up a few weeks ago. Granted, they had to make best use of limited funds, but potentially left themselves open to a protracted and costly legal battle in just this type of situation.

That said, I'm happy it turned out well for them. It's good to see reasonable people on both sides of a lawsuit coming to an amicable agreement for a change.

to be fair, they were actually trying to brand their cloud server as " python" which is according to the python software foundation itselfcompletely different from "python"

As I recall, PO Box was applying for a broad trademark that would cover far more that just cloud servers. Furthermore, if I say "Python server", do I mean a PO Box Hosting server or a server with Python on it? Using the term for a server product that may not use the Python language isn't just theoretically confusing, it's actually confusing, not to mention the fact that the trademark would prevent competitors from saying they supported Python on their servers.

Matt, I agree with what you said, but I think that "The Ugly" was attempting a joke, a joke I personally found funny.

It was a wise step for PO Box to claim a trademark on Python. Tons of time and money wasted just to gain the resulting re-branding. Didn't they try to claim the trademark, no one would even care if they were still using the Python name for their cloud. For me it seems like the world's going insane on patents, trademarks, etc.